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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Another card using the fun and beautiful designs from Angel's Landing. This time I'm going with the floral design from Pierced Flowers. Rather than piercing the flowers, I used my white gel pen to ink the dots. I also added my shabby/vintage feel to the flowers. Hope you like the different approach I took.

The papers are more from the K & Co. Que Sera Sera collection. All pieces of the card, (except the ticket), have been sprayed with pearl glimmer mist. This did cause the inks to run on the flowers and leaves, but I liked that touch in this instance. The flowers and leaves were then sprayed with the ink air tool using the cocoa marker to help age. The piece of paper that the floral bits are mounted on is actually some pearlescent paper I found at a paper shop on the other side of Cleveland a while back. So glad I remembered I had it. You will see it on another card I post in a few days. Some of the flowers are popped up on foam tape and many of the leaves and petals are curved up to give more dimension coming off of the card. Trim is more from JoAnn's. Card base is stamped with a great flourish stamp I found in the $1 bin at Michael's.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

I sadly was in need of a sympathy card this past week, so I turned to a wonderful verse that always seems to bring comfort as well as encouragement - Philippians 1:3. The actual digi sentiment is from an up-and-coming company called 'Digiments' that will be opening soon. I look forward to seeing all of the other neat designs that will be featured, as I have thoroughly enjoyed using this one.

Because the card was going to be mailed, I tried to keep the embellies fairly low to the card as opposed to big ribbons and such. Also wanted some soothing colors, so I turned to these beautiful papers by Prima. The little rose in the bottom corner is a new one from Prima also, from the Nursery collection, but it reminds me of the vintage millinery flowers. Chipboard photo corner was covered in same paper and then sanded to distress, my handy dandy ink air tool was used to lightly spray cocoa ink over the verse and the edges were sponged. The swirl flourish stamp in the corner is from a new Inkadinkado stamp that I received from them. I am loving this flourish, and you will see it pop up in so many places! The trim is a new one from Prima also (I love the way it echos the same design as the MS punch!), and the button comes from Stampin' Up! I inked the edges of the main cs piece in white craft ink as I almost always do. ;)

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Coffee of the Day - Larry's Beans Mexico Blend (my last bit of this yummy blend!)

I had a lovely Saturday, and I hope that you did as well! My middle son, Mick, wanted to go visit a friend who lives near PA. The drive takes about 1 1/2 hours, but there is a HOBBY LOBBY there!!!! So I offered to stay and bring Mick back after they went to the movie and did whatever else they were going to do. (did I happen to mention that this friend is a GIRL!?!?!) anyhow, not only was there a Hobby Lobby, but there was also a JoAnn's and a Michaels all within the same 5 minute drive! and there was a CHILI'S!!!!! the closest Chili's Rest. to us is on the other side of the Cleveland airport and that is almost 1 1/2 hours away. So needless to say, I was in little hoggie heaven!!!!!! oh yeah, STARBUCKS, TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! an individual one (with drive thru) and one at the Barnes & Noble. Can you tell I live in a small area and am like a little kid going to Toys 'R Us for the first time? They want to get together again the weekend after next, so I so very graciously volunteered to drive again......... oh, the sacrifices we Moms make for our children!!!! ;)

I guess you would probably like to see a card while you are here. I made another card using my fun coffee stamps from Stamps Happen, Inc. of the Janlynn Corp. I decided to partner them with something completely off-the-wall: the new Marrakech paper collection by Basic Grey. Now I know you think I've lost my ever lovin' mind, and while you might just be right, I do like the way this turned out. I also used some of my coffee paper that I made this past week with the used coffee grounds on cs. Doesn't this look cool?!?!?!? More of the neat May Arts mesh ribbon and a vintage button complete the look. I challenge you to grab some paper that you wouldn't think to use with a particular stamp and just GO FOR IT! you will probably be surprised at how your creativity will flourish when you push yourself just a wee bit further than you think you can go. We all need that every once in a while!

Friday, April 24, 2009

I have another fun card using a delightful image from Angel's Landing! This little sugar glider just melted my heart! She is soooooo cute! Now I admit that I had to research how to color her properly, so I hope I did her justice. Wanted to give her a fun flower embellie and some pretty papers, so I dug into my treasured stash of Daisy D's.

The main image cs is distressed by way of wrinkling the edges while still damp from watercoloring/sponging around the little sugar glider. This gave a really cool effect. I then distressed the matted bit. Her lovely flower is a felt one from Petaloo, while the button is again from SEI. The way cool trim is another nifty find from the trims section at JoAnn's. I frayed the edges a bit. Just added a little tag from the local office supply that is popped up on foam tape (thought the sentiment a perfect pun for her, but also appropriate for a friend needing a boost of encouragement!).

Just a quick post today, as I am starting to get behind on some stamping commitments. yep, horrible I know. I HAVE to stamp this weekend. feel my pain?!?! ;)

Anyhoooooo...... my son, Tyler, has a best friend, Nathan, who is a Marine. Nate has been home for 2 weeks on leave and it has truly been wonderful to see him again. All of the boys really love Nate - he is a friend to all of them - more like another brother. Well, he will deploy to Iraq again soon and I wanted to send some cards with him for the soldiers to have to send back home, even from their base in SC. So I loaded him up with a little over 100 cards, some I had made, some I have collected from friends and SU! demos who know that I send cards out to the Marines. This is one that I tossed in the mix.

You know how I love my American Art Stamps stick chicks and Basic Grey! So both came to good use on this card. I added some great sparkly cord & vintage lace trim that I found on Etsy, punched a few flowers & added rhinestones to the centers, inked up a chipboard flower, and then finished it off by doing some paper piercing. I haven't pulled out my paper piercing tool in a while (mainly 'cause I always end up poking myself with the darn thing! ), so decided to give it a go. Thought it was a pretty simple card that will hopefully make some Mom of a Marine somewhere very happy!

When saying your prayers today, please add a special one for all those serving in the armed forces. It isn't about whether or not you agree with the war, they are there putting their lives on the line regardless. And if not in Iraq, then somewhere in the world. Thank you to the American soldiers! We salute you!!!! :)

Thursday, April 23, 2009

I'm using some of my new, adorable digi stamps from Angel's Landing. These images are just wonderful and print out so nicely! and they're cute to boot! ;)

eta - Judi just sent me an email and she has posted my card on her blog for Angel's Landing. Wow! how cool is that?!?! I am so excited I almost spilled my coffee! She really is wonderful - you should go check out her blog and website!

The card base is some of the 'coffee paper' that I made several days ago and mentioned in a prevous post. I don't know what else it might be officially called, but this is what I like to call it! I took some used coffee grounds prior to tossing them onto my garden and sprinkled them onto some SU! natural white cs. Once the grounds dried, I just brushed them off into the garden (you could put them in the trash if you want - I like to compost mine). They leave such a way cool effect on the paper. More projects will come using this same technique.

Decorative papers are Basic Grey Archaic collection, chipboard leaves and sentiment are from Colorbok My Wildlife eco-friendly collection & sanded to distress, and buttons are from S.E.I. I like the way all the elements come together on this fun card!

Have a great day! :)

Jennifer

p.s. I'm also using this card for the Wacky Wed. Challenge, which is to use buttons and/or chipboard on your creation. It just so happens I used both! :) It also fits for the Digital Tuesday Challenge to celebrate Earth Day - use green and brown on your card. This is about the most eco-friendly card I've ever made!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

I just found out this evening that I won the sketch challenge over at The Digi Shack with the card that I posted here. Head on over to their site and check out the fun digi images that they have to offer. Lots of cute ones! This digi stamping is great fun! :) you should try it, too!Their free flower download won't be available much longer, so hurry over!

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm..He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods.He practiced in the woods; but he could never hit the target.Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner.As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck.

Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved!In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile; only to see his Sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch the next day Grandma said, 'Sally, let's wash the dishes'But Sally said, 'Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.'Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?'

So Johnny did the dishes.

Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, 'I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.'Sally just smiled and said, 'well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help?She whispered again, 'Remember the duck?' So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's; he finally couldn't stand it any longer.He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.

Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, 'Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.'

Thought for the day and every day thereafter:

Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done... And the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.)...whatever it is...You need to know that:God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing.

He has seen your whole life... He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you.

The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness; He not only forgives you, but He forgets.It is by God's grace and mercy that we are saved.

Always remember:God is at the window!When Jesus died on the cross; he was thinking of you!

I made this card for a challenge hosted by Paula. Paula's challenge was to create something using the mosaic embossing technique. I don't have a die cut machine, so Paula sent me the supplies. I really appreciate her helping me out! But gosh it was a challenge for me to use these colors. That is part of doing challenges though - to get out of our comfort zone. Plus you know that I don't normally do 'cutesy' type cards, so I was stumped at first. But then the mojo started jumping and off I went!

The paper was first inked over with white craft ink. This causes the embossing to really pop. I then grabbed my wonderful mousies from House Mouse to go along with the 'Happy Birthday' message on the embossed cs. The cupcake icing is covered with a heavy coating of cotton candy stickles. The glitter flowers are another of the ones from Heidi Grace (like the ones I used on my spring HM butterfly kites card). The embossed piece is mounted on sahara sand cs to help accentuate the colors of everything else. All the pastels in the HM piece don't show up so well in the scan, but irl it's all pastel-y and soft! oh yes, the candle flame is painted with beeswax shimmerz.

I'm working on some things with some fun digi images I got from Angel's Landing. Also have created some cool 'coffee' paper to play with later in the week. My boys were even impressed with it, so I look forward to getting it inky and making some cards. New coffee inchie stamps from Rubbernecker are here, so we'll see what I can come up with!

have a good one everyone! sending big hugs your way!!! :D

Jennifer

p.s. oh yes, I had a little mousie stop by my blog yesterday - Mudpie Mouse from House Mouse stamps left a message. How cool is that!?! Play in the HM Monday Challenge and a little mousie may just stop by and say hello to you, too! ;)

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Here is my submission for this week's House Mouse Monday Challenge. The theme for the week is 'Spring'. I am using more of the K & Co. Que Sera Sera papers with this adorable stamp. The butterflies are painted in Beeswax shimmerz to make them sparkle. The blue/turquoise paper is actually the flip side of the floral paper. The glitter flowers are some by Heidi Grace that I found in my stash. I'll have another project to show later in the week showing the other flower that comes in the package. I covered the mousies in Crystal Effects to help them stand out on the cs. They seemed to be lost in the grass without it! Trim is vintage and an Etsy find. oh yes, the card is 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" square.

As you can see I didn't take a stamping break at all. God worked on me and my pride at not being accepted to the DT, 'cause that is all it really was - plain ol' pride rearing its ugly head. (plus being sick, but that's a whole other story) I ended up stamping Sunday night and enjoying myself immensely. So essentially, if God tells me to stamp and create, then that is what I will do. He has a much greater purpose and plan for me than I can possibly understand. And he has it all worked out to a 'T' if I just allow myself to follow Him.

So everyone have a great day! It's rainy and cool and totally glorious here! :D

Monday, April 20, 2009

Last week Paula had asked me to make some more masculine cards to help inspire her, as she was needing some stamping mojo aimed toward her in that direction. Well I am one of the oddballs who happens to enjoy making manly man cards! Probably comes from being surrounded by all my guys! anyhooo - while I was making the cards for the Rubbernecker challenge, I wanted to keep using my Classic Sketches set by Stampin' Up!

This card uses paper by SU! and Basic Grey Archaic collection. The photo turns are by 7 Gypsies. The bg was stamped with SU! sanded bg that was inked with both creamy caramel and close to cocoa. The sentiment is from the SU! set, Sincere Salutations - one of the BEST all purpose sentiment sets on the market imo. A simple card, but a classic one that shows off the image well.

Now on to the next edition of "Ask me how I know....."! Did you know that you can singe off your eyebrows getting too close to a burning candle?! go ahead, "ASK ME HOW I KNOW......." Well, it started like this.......

Last night David was preparing to leave for this conference in Michigan. I had lit a candle in our bedroom while he was packing. I was telling him how much I enjoyed the fragrance of this new candle I had picked up at JoAnn's a while back using one of those lovely 40% off coupons. He asked what the fragrance was - I told him it was some kind of Fresh Herbs or something along those lines. While I was describing the scent, I leaned down to inhale the gorgeouseness of it all (I'm an herb freak). All the while I was inhaling the gorgeouseness, I forgot that my nose has been stuffy while I've not been feeling well and got closer than I normally would have because, gosh, I couldn't smell that gorgeouseness! what was wrong with my lovely new candle!?????! I remember just last week that it had a very strong scent to it while it burned! hmmmmmm..... so I kept leaning in closer (yep..... I'm a goober to the nth degree! stuffy nose and all) well suddenly my forehead began to feel warm. now I've been quite feverish lately, so I didn't give it much thought. but then there was that aroma - that OTHER aroma - you know the one - the one that smells like burning hair! it was my eyebrows! I ran my fingers over my eyebrows and they started falling off in my hands. oh goodness....... some days I wonder why I get out of bed. oh yes, it is so that I can be the comic relief in someone else's day. so all of you out there in cyber space can point me out to your loved ones and say, "at least you aren't like HER!" and laugh! :D

Sunday, April 19, 2009

I made this card this morning for the sketch challenge over at the blog, Stamping with Annie B. She is celebrating her 1 year blogaversary with a cool challenge and giveaway of a Mytimeless template from PTI. I had just received this amazingly neat stamp from Inkadinkado for free (from sending in some of my cards) in the mail the other day, so was anxious to get it all inky. Look closely and you will see that the rose is comprised of 2 birds. There are several stamps in this line from Inka - really fun!

The papers are Basic Grey Sugared collection and SU! pink pirouette sponged with white craft and choco chip. I spritzed the base with pearl glimmer mist to give it some shine. The main image and actual flower were outlined with a glitter gold gel pen to add a little more sparkle.

Well, that does it for me for a while. I am tired and stamped out. I have made lots of challenge cards lately, which have been lots of fun, but tough while not feeling well. Also received the news that I didn't make the Digital Stamp Oasis Tuesday Challenge Design Team. So I'm gonna take a break from the inks and rubber for a bit. Maybe some rest will help get the crafty flow going in the right direction again.

Ever since I first saw the stamp set, 'Humor in High Heels', in the SU! catty, I knew it was one I had to have. so onto my first order from that catalog it went - and I have had a great time playing with it ever since! So when the lovely people from the Janlynn Corporation gave me the opportunity to choose some of their wonderful stamps, I knew this witches shoes stamp was going to be on my list. Now you add Lori Craig to the mix and her fun weekend sketch challenge, and I had a card in the making!!! ;)

I wanted to use non-Halloween colors on this card to make it super fun. and goodness, you should see the sparkle and bling these chicks can flaunt! there is shine all over this card! each witch has been adorned with either a spica glitter pen or frosted lace stickles. and yes, I have a pair of socks almost identical to one of these, but I'm not telling which witch! :D I had to cut off part of the bow in the scan, so it makes it look kinda funky in the photo - sorry bout that.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

I have been doing lots of blogging lately and have come across some really fun sites! One of those that I found is Shirley's 2 Girls. There are 2 challenges currently going on over at the blog, so here is my submission for one of them. This challenge is to use the theme of the nursery rhyme "Mary Mary, Quite Contrary" and the colors: lavendar, orange, lime, black, and white. Well, hence the challenge for me! As much as I love purples, they present quite a problem for me when I stamp. And I discovered while looking through ALL my bazillion sheets of decorative papers that 1. most of my papers look alike, 2. I have waaaaay more paper than I will ever use, and 3. what in the WORLD was I thinking when I bought some of these?!?! I mean - REALLY! ;)

But Basic Grey to the rescue!!! Green is from the Lilykate collection and orange is from Ambrosia. The stamps are SU! and are from this past SAB promo - Botanical Blooms. I hand drew the little butterflies, so please don't look at them too closely! I also watercolored the prima flower in almost amethyst to match the inks since I couldn't find one in a similar shade.

The great things about challenges is that they are, well, challenging! but really they help me to get outside of my regular comfort zone/rut/same ol' same ol' stamping style. So I encourage you to try a challenge out this week sometime. I'm working on several others, too.

My card today is for the Digital Stamp Oasis Tuesday Challenge to make something shabby using digi stamps. well shabby I can do! I don't have any of the DSO images yet, so I turned to one of my fave digi designers who offers free downloads of her wonderful creations - Mel Stampz. These flowers are from her 'Wild Rose' download. you might remember the parachuting bunny with flowers card I did right before Easter - that is one of hers also.

I'm using more of those way cool papers by Daisy D's - always perfect for shabby. gosh, I am really gonna miss this company! Everything is matted on a river rock base that was stamped with the SU! Sanded bg and then sponged in vanilla craft and edges inked in river rock. I did a big 'no no' in the digi stampin world for the flowers, I watercolored them! I am blessed with a printer (or the ink I should say) that allows me to watercolor to my heart's content without the inks bleeding. I painted each flower in butter cream shimmerz to add a little shine, since part of the challenge was to add some kind of 'bling' somewhere. I didn't think pearls or rhinestones would fit on this card, so I added some touches to the flowers. Each one was also dotted with a drop of liquid pearls in the center of the stamens. The red flower is popped up on foam tape for extra dimension. I matted the trio on a piece of watercolor paper sitting on my stamp table - perfect size and great texture. Also used one of my new FREE Inka stamps that arrived yesterday on the 'leaves' and flourish of the photo corners. Photo corners were inked in vanilla kraft, edged in river rock, stamped with flourish in same river rock, and then sanded to distress. Sorry to have rambled on, but there's lots of detail that doesn't always show in the scan.

Everyone have a great weekend! I'm still sick, seem to be getting worse - hence the tea rather than coffee, but at least I'm still able to get some stamping done! :) actually did 3 cards yesterday, which for me is HUGE! Stop and smell the daffodils today! :D

Jennifer

p.s. Head over to Jacksonbelle Embellishments through Monday for Lindsey's Spring Sale of 25% off everything in the store!!! Use the code SPRING09 at checkout.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Wanted to play in the Rubbernecker Wacky Wednesday Challenge again this week. It was a fun one, but it certainly lived up to the name CHALLENGE! I made 2 cards this week, using some paper that I made. I used to make this kind of vintage paper all the time, but seemed to get out of the habit. When I saw the stamp set 'Classic Sketches' in the new SU! catty, I knew it was time to start playing around with it again! So this WW challenge gave me the perfect excuse. I used colors that I wouldn't normally have put together, but then again, that is what a challenge is all about, right?! ;)

You can see the inspiration piece of fabric we were given to work with. In one card, the mosaic one, I actually used the squares as inspiration as well. My colors for this are SU! pacific point, night of navy, and forest foliage. Also added craft white and gold to the mix. BG cs is the gold, images were embossed in gold onto white paper (yes, the mosaic one is really white under all that mess!), inks with watercolors were added, black was spritzed with the ink squirty tool (I HAVE to find out what the official name of that tool is!), both flowers are Prima sprayed with walnut gold glimmer mist. Ribbon on one is May Arts and brads are SU! that were sanded to distress. Buttons on mosaic are vintage Etsy and trim is Prima. Edges of both main images are inked in gold - mosaic one in gold glitter pen for a little more sparkle. Both cards have a subtle shine irl.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

The Digi Shack is having their first challenge over on the blog. I decided to play along since you get to try out a way cool digi stamp! too bad my printer is weird and crops it no matter how I try to get around that! so I just made do and used my brand spankin' new Cutterbee circle cutter and cut out the image further! The overall card size is 4" x 4" to really show off the digi image.

The papers are some from Basic Grey that I had never used before (GASP!!!), Lilykate. This is a really gorgeous collection! and it went perfectly with the image from Digi Shack. I printed the image onto SU! Very Vanilla cs, used SU! markers to color, but then went over them with a watercolor brush to soften. I added shimmerz butter cream to each flower as well as the veins of the leaves. The whole thing was then spritzed with the ink spray tool in pink and cocoa. I inked the edges in sahara sand. I don't have a scallop edge tool in a circle shape, so I just cut out a strip using my punch and then taped it all around the back of the circle. This caused the whole thing to pop up in the center - very cool result I wasn't expecting. added some extra thick foam tape to help with the dimension on the card. Buttons are SU! and baker's twine is Martha Stewart. the great sentiment is one by Inkadinkado. sponged and spritzed same as main circle.

Hope that all of you are having a great day! I am sicker than a dog these days. Made it tough to get a card done - I was all thumbs! ;)

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Coffee of the Day - Larry's Beans Mexico BlendOne of my fun online friends is Lori Craig. She has the greatest blog, but is also a way coooooool person! Now, she is an Elvis fan and knows that I am as well. When my fam & I went to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame a week or so ago, I had to tell her about the great display they had of Elvis stuff. I was thinking about her when I saw the costumes, card, jukebox, well, pretty much all the neat stuff that actually belonged to Elvis. I mean folks, he actually touched, wore, sat in, spilled Coca-Cola on ALL this stuff! how cool is that?!?!?! (okay I was the same way about Bob Marley's shirt, but he doesn't have a line of stamps by CHF!! GRINS!) anyhow, I digress.......... so as Lori and I were emailing back and forth about all this fun stuff, she was asking me about my Elvis stamp collection. Then lo and behold, yesterday I get this package in the mail with 2 Elvis stamps from Cornish Heritage Farms! She sent me these way cool stamps that I didn't have yet! how amazing is that?!?!?!? oh yeah, I was doin' the happy dance and showing my guys, who didn't show anywhere NEAR the enthusiasm these awesome stamps required!!!! shame on those boys!!!!!! okay, so they had spent the entire day backpacking. but this is ELVIS!!!!!!

anyway...... I had to stamp with these babies PRONTO! so here is the first card I made. I embossed the King in black, masked him, and then sprayed the white cs with graphite glimmer mist. The piece was then matted on a distressed piece of black cs. The bg paper is Die Cuts with a View Wedding paper, but I love the paisleys. thought it went well with the feel of this stamp. The flourishes are some felt adhesive from K & Co. Buttons are more of my vintage finds at Etsy.

thank you, thank you, thank you, Lori! I love these stamps! and you have thrilled me with your kindness and generosity! :)

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Got a jump start on the House Mouse Monday Challenge by actually playing ON TIME!!! what is up with that?!?! well, Dave and the boys went backpacking in PA for the day yesterday. The guys are on Spring Break this week and Dave took off a few days to spend with the fam. They originally were going to take a 3 day backpacking trip, but the weather at the park they were headed to was going to be rainy and cold the entire time, so they decided to stay home and just do day trips. Works for me, since they brought pizza home with them last night! ;) So I had a chance to do some fun stamping. yeah, I know, like anything ever keeps me from that!!! grins!

I love this Gruffie image - you know me and a coffee or tea pot! I added the little flowers to bring something a little fun to the card. yep, I like to do that a lot, too! Papers are SU! and Basic Grey Urban Prairie. Used my neat Martha Stewart punch for the borders and added this prima twill trim that ended up being a perfect match. Toss on a prima flower and some dew drops, ink the edges in white craft, and ta da - we have a card! the center image is popped up on foam tape to add dimension. All coloring is done with watercolor brushes and SU! inks. Card size is 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" square. oh yeah, I almost forgot the most important part - the House Mouse Monday Challenge was to create multiple images - either through stamping several images or by cutting your image into several pieces. you can see what I chose! ;)

Monday, April 13, 2009

Digital Stamp Oasis is starting a new Tuesday Challenge blog and looking for several people to form the Design Team. By posting this on my blog, I am expressing my interest in a position. I am new to digi stamping, having only done a few cards so far, but goodness, it is quite addicting! I like being able to size the images based upon whatever project I'm working on at the time.For more information, see the DSO post here. Happy stamping!

I hope that all of you had a wonderful Easter! What a glorious day to recognize the overwhelming love our Saviour has for us! We spent the morning at a phenomenal church service, then came home to relax for the rest of the day. I prepared a simple dinner while David and the boys took the dogs to the park for several hours. I don't know if I have mentioned our amusing pups - Mocha and Latte`. They are labs, about 7 years old (actually Easter is their birthday!). Mocha is a chocolate and Latte`is a yellow. They bring us such joy. Actual sisters, they were a Mother's Day gift after our beloved Riley, a black lab David had for many years, passed away. Anyhow, dogs were worn out, dinner was delicious, David got his golf fix watching the Masters final round, the boys spent the evening playing their PSP's, and I basked in the joy of being greatly blessed with a beautiful family!!

This card uses 2 more of my fun Stamps Happen, Inc. stamps from the Janlynn Corp. You know I had to pick coffee stamps! I pulled out some Basic Grey Archaic paper, which I haven't used in a while and is getting quite, well, archaic!!! I am in desperate need of more masculine cards, as Dave has been pulling all of them from my card basket and using them. (which is really what they are there for, right?) The way cool mesh ribbon is from May Arts that I found over at Stamper's Dream. seemed perfect to add to the 'manly' feel of the card, since the guys forbid me to add 'girlie ribbon' to a guy card! :D Wanted to keep the sentiment generic, so I utilized an old SU! one and stamped it multiple times.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Who taught the sun where to stand in the morning? and Who told the ocean you can only come this far? and Who showed the moon where to hide 'til evening? Whose words alone can catch a falling star? Well I know my Redeemer lives I know my Redeemer lives All of creation testifys This life within me cries I know my Redeemer lives yeahThe very same God that spins things in orbit runs to the weary, the worn and the weak And the same gentle hands that hold me when I'm broken They conquered death to bring me victory Now I know my Redeemer lives I know my Redeemer livesLet all creation testify Let this life within me cry I know my Redeemer, He lives To take away my shame And He lives forever, I'll proclaim That the payment for my sin Was the precious life He gave But now He's alive and There's an empty grave Now I know my Redeemer lives I know my Redeemer lives Let all creation testify Let this life within me cry I know my Redeemer, I know my Redeemer I know my Redeemer livesI know my redeemer lives Because He lives I can face tomorrowI know He lives he lives yeah I spoke with him this morninghe lives he lives, the tomb is empty, he lives I gotta tell everybody!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Just a quick post as I'm getting sick again (or still, as I'm not doing well since our trip to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last weekend). Don't you just hate it when you feel icky and a holiday is coming up? anyway, we aren't going to focus on that......

This card is for the weekly House Mouse Monday Challenge. I haven't played in a while for several reasons, but this week's theme is 'Sweet'. So I pulled out my adorable 'Sleeping with Strawberries' mousie and the fun Martha Stewart strawberry fabric stickers. Also used papers from Daisy D's. Colored it all with watercolor brushes again and SU! inks. I so enjoy using those brushes!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Another card using my wonderful stamps by Stamps Happen, Inc. from the Janlynn Corp. This stamp is called 'God's Window' and I knew is was another 'must have' when I saw it on the website. I have a thing about angels with no facial features. not sure why or how to even explain it, but I have quite a few around my house. I collect many of the angels from Willow Tree, so you can see why this stamp appealed to me so much! Plus the sentiment is just so adorable!

I stamped the image on SU! river rock. All coloring is done with just SU! inks and watercolor brushes. Her wings and halo are painted in Butter Cream shimmerz, which shines so beautifully on the river rock. The dsp is also SU!, but I can't recall which one it is. I used a Michael's $1 stamp for the bg and then spritzed the whole card base in pearl glimmer mist to add to the shine. Flowers are prima with dew drops in the centers, button is SU!, vintage seam tape is from Etsy, and the precious little dove is Maya Road that I lightly sponged in soft sky. It seemed the perfect way to finish off the card! The card is a large 5 1/2" x 8 1/2".

Have a beautiful day! Remember that Good Friday is a day filled with such hope and promise for each one of us. God loves YOU with a never-ending love!

If you hurry, you can join the blog stroll going on over at Rubbernecker Stamps RIGHT NOW!!! They have just released some phenom new stamp sets and backgrounds that are to die for! But hurry because the giveaways end today at noon EST. Start at the Rubbernecker Stamps blog and then stroll along to the wonderful blogs of the Design Team. I personally love the stroll 'cause then I don't spill my beloved cuppa coffee like I would in a HOP!! :D

I also found out that I am one of the winners in their Wacky Wed. challenge from last week! I am so excited! You can see my entry here. What are you waiting for? HURRY and then stroll..........

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Using one of my fun new stamps by Stamps Happen, Inc. from the Janlynn Corporation. As soon as I saw this little guy I knew I had to have him! I have a thing about penguin stamps! and you know me and polka dots! I used strictly my watercolor brush for all of the coloring here. The main image was cut out free hand to add a little extra whimsy and then matted on some VERY old SU! patterned paper. The cs base is baja breeze, as are the fun buttons. I love this button collection! I tied them up with some baker's twine from Martha Stewart and of course used my ever-handy white craft ink. The main image is also popped up with foam tape. I used the white gel pen to accent the candy cane and snowflake dots and make the white 'pop'.

Almost all of our snow has melted, with temps now in the mid 50's. It is just gorgeous! Hope the sun is shining where you are! If not, then just imagine it is!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

I fell in love with these digi images from Mel Stampz that I first saw over on my bloggin' friend, Sue's, blog. They are the most adorable images, and best of all they are FREE downloads! Isn't that just so sweet of Mel?!?!

I was going to wait and post this tomorrow, but I'm impatient as all get out and am jumpin' the gun here! I love this little girl bunny with her basket of flowers! I paired her with Basic Grey Urban Prarie paper and some neat trim from JoAnn's. The crochet flower actually came from a pair of hair clippies I found in the clearance bin a while back. Pardon my blender pen which barely held on to finish coloring in this image (had to supplement with the watercolor brush) and then it sputtered and coughed and sadly is no more. Better hope I have a spare hiding away in the stamp room someplace or it's gonna be tough goin' with my stampin' mojo for a while!!! I lightly sponged soft sky ink in the bg and had to add some little polka dots to the parachute. You know how I love those polka dots!! oh yes, the card is 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" square.

enjoy your afternoon!

Jennifer

p.s. my scanner drives me bonkers!!!! I make sure that everything is all squared up properly and even and edited correctly, and then it just scans the cards however it wants. the thing is that I can't edit it after it scans the items - I have to go back and re-do the entire thing. grrrrrr....... in the scheme of things it isn't worth getting huffy over, which is why I don't bother to go back and straighten things out most times. just thought I'd let you know why sometimes my pix end up catty-wompus. I'm really not that tech-challenged - honest. the gremlins in my scanner just like to mess with me sometimes! ;)

I received my wonderful new stamps from the Janlynn Corporation today! They are so cool and much larger than I was anticipating. Can't wait to start playing with them! The stamps are manufactured under the name 'Stamps Happen' so I'm sure you have seen them in stores everywhere. Be sure to check out the website. Cool stuff to be found for sure! I'll be posting some things from them in the next few days.

I realized that I hadn't shared any Easter cards with you yet - GASP!!! It's horrible, I know! ;) So I pulled out my lovely stick chicks from American Art Stamps and started playing. This card is very simple in style for me, as I'm sure you will notice. Not sure that I care much for it, but hopefully the family I share it with will like it anyhow. The paper is from Doodlebug Designs. Bright colors are just a challenge for me to stamp with. and of course you can imagine how I stuggle with simple!

I hope that all of you are as excited this week as I am! I know that Easter is my all time fave holiday ever! I just love this week!!! now Thursday and Friday tear me to pieces because of the significance of what Jesus did for each and every one of us, and I struggle with the enormity of it all every year (actually every time I stop and think about it, but that is a whole other story if you have several hours!). But gosh, it is also the most beautiful story I could ever think of as well. and so personal to each and every one of us. I hope that you think so, too. My family and I are going to a way cool church this Sunday that has us all excited. The people there are just the most amazing and God-filled you could ever find anywhere. We are so blessed to be able to meet with them and call them friends. So to be able to spend such a phenomenal occassion as Easter with them is just a triple scoop of blessing with a cherry on top!!! :)

Monday, April 6, 2009

Just another card using the challenge of supplies both old and new. Same materials as the previous post for the most part, except for the BRAND SPANKIN' NEW Cuttlebee circle cutter that hubby bought me today for Easter!!!!! and it is PINK, PINK, PINK!!!!!! just like the one in the SU! catty, but such a gorgeous PINK!!!!! card also uses the way fun SU! set 'Cheep Talk'.

try pulling out some of your unused supplies and putting them to good use! then post your link here as I would love to see your wonderful creations!!! :)

we've already had several inches of snow fall and it's accumulating and snowing harder as I type. so very pretty!

I am hostessing the challenge for the SplitCoast Stampers Bloggers Group #2 this go 'round. What fun to come up with an idea for creating! As I was driving around last week, I came up with this idea. Sure hope everyone has fun with it - I know I did!

The challenge this time is to use something old and something new on your creation. you know you have those old beauties hiding in your closet somewhere just begging to be used again, or maybe for the first time ever! I am almost ashamed to say that I actually had to remove the plastic wrap from the ink pad of SU! Cool Carribean that I used on this card. yep, hangin' my head over that one! it is such a gorgeous color, but I had never ONCE opened it! and my poor Night of Navy hasn't been used in over a year on ANYTHING!!! it used to be one of all time fave 'go to' colors! what is up with THAT?!?! My something new is the stamp, Jewel Bird from Inkadinkado, and the papers, Addison line from K & Co. I guess you could say that the old could also be the lace since it is vintage! ;) Anyhow, as I was planning what to do for this challenge, I came to the realization that I have way toooooo many things that I haven't used recently the way that I should. guess that means I have to stamp more!!! :D

We have 6" to 10" of snow forecast in the next 24 hours. Think that will give me plenty of 'stay inside and stamp' time. Good thing I love the snow so much! It is obviously still winter here in NE Ohio!

Had a great time at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday! They don't allow photos of any kind taken inside, so there is only this one from outside the building. It was soooo windy and only in the upper 30's, so it was colllllld. What a thrill to see so many cool pieces of memorabillia! Of course the Elvis stuff just blew me away! that and Bob Marley's shirt. go figure..... I'm a pretty eclectic person!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

RUN, don't walk, to this post on SplitCoast Stampers to read more about how you can receive FREE new release stamps from Inkadinkado!!!! I am a huge fan of their products and just love the way the stamps, well, stamp! the images are fun as well as drop dead gorgeous, and quite hip for the times.

This is one of the cards that I am sending in. (Also sending in the owl card posted here.) I made it some time last Fall, I think, gosh, who knows the way my wonky head works these days, but it was in my card basket whispering, 'send me PLEASE!!'. so of course I said, 'heck, yeah baby 'cause I wants me some FREE rubbah!' Products are Prima (papers, trim, and ribbon), SU!, and dew drops in addition to this lovely Inka stamp 'Nesting'. who wouldn't love a shabby, shabby birdie to call out to them on a spring day?! and I forget to pull out those way cool skeleton leaves that I love so much. thought it worked well with this. oh yeah, card is 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" square.

Must dash as we are heading out to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this morning. Big festivities planned all weekend for the Induction ceremonies tonight. I have never been before, even though we've lived in the Cleveland area for almost 12 years now. yep, shame on me!!! neither has Ryan, our youngest. Tyler and Mick have gone through school field trips ( yeah, rough life I know - nothin' like the operas I had to go to as a kid for our school trips - sorry, I love all things cultured deeply, just not opera). So anywhoooooo....... hope to post some pix later this weekend. Supposedly lots of celebs are in town for this - maybe they will discover Tyler & Mick and their rad guitar skills, Ryan and his sweet sounds on the sax, and offer them some big mega music contract. Nope, they wouldn't leave their sweet momma! pah! yeah, like you really believe that one! GRINS and GIGGLES!!!! :D

Friday, April 3, 2009

Just a quickie post ~I received an email this morning from a company called the Janlynn Corporation. They had seen my blog and want to send me 5 free stamps! I get to play to my heart's content with these neat stamps and then feature the projects on my blog. I am thrilled to bits! and the stamps I chose have already shipped out today!!!! check out the website: www.janlynn.com. You will probably recognize many of the stamps that you see. I know that I already own several myself. I can't wait for my new rubbah to arrive!!!!! gotta love it! and what an honor!also ~ stopped by JoAnn's today for my weekly visit! ;) Had a chance to visit with the Education Co-ordinator, Rose, and she is awesome! actually everyone at my local store is just da bomb, baby! I love going in there!!!! Anyhoooooo..... I spent a long time chatting with her and going over my PaperCrafts entry. She is going over the top in featuring my card in the store! It is really neat to see someone that excited to feature my work. She is going to create a collage of the page from the magazine and mat it. Then she will display it on several boards in the store. WOW! I am really very underserving of all this. it's just little ol' me......and all of that brings me to this ~God is good, every day. Every day, God is good. His blessings are abundant and continuously amaze me. Life is not always easy, but He makes it all worthwhile. Thank you for being a part of this journey with me!Love ya!Jennifer

Well, lo and behold when I woke up this morning it was pouring, pouring, pouring down rain. But I happen to be one of those odd sorts who just loves rainy days, so YIPPPEEEE!!! Don't you just love the way it makes the earth smell and the colors of nature so much more vibrant?!

So in honor of this glorious day, I'm posting this stick chick creation I made yesterday using one of my fave lines of stamps from American Art Stamps. This stamp is called 'Picking Daisies' and is just so much fun! I decided to pair it with papers from Daisy D's, which sadly is going out of business. I love their products, so this makes me quite sad. Lindsey over at Jacksonbelle Embellishments has found some great deals on several of their remaining products, so head over to her store if you have a chance. I kept this card simple, which was tough for me, but did add the polka dots to her top and a little flower in her hat to spruce up things a bit! ;) Buttons are Etsy vintage and SU!, stitching is free hand faux, a big step for me since I'm so freakin' shaky all the time. Between that and the little hat flower I was quite stressed since my hands just don't co-operate, but I think this turned out fun anyhow!

Have a great day! I challenge you in the next few days of crafting to add a little somethin' somethin' extra (like the polka dots or flower) to your creation. Be bold - you can do it! :)

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Coffee of the Day - French Vanilla ( you gotta say it with the accent!!)

oh it is such a beautiful day here! the sun is shining, the birds are a'tweeting, the crocus in my front yard are poppin' up their little purple heads and saying 'hello'! I have opened all the windows and am letting the house breathe again. All this and know that 2 days ago we still had snow on the ground. So you see my excitement? I do love winter and the snow that falls, but spring is such a wonderful time of re-birth, freshness, and things new! (okay, maybe I've had a little TOO much fresh air!! giggles!)

anyhow, I want to share with you this card that I made yesterday. I was in the need of some 'stamp for me' time. Ya know what I mean? the kind of card you can create without any design requirements or challenges to meet - just whatever I want it to be, it will be. So yep, you guessed it, it's shabby.VERY VERY shabby. and I love every stinkin' inch of it. oh you should see the glimmer irl. gorgeous!!!!!

I pulled out my latest go-to fave set Bloomin' Beautiful by Stampin' Up! Paired it with more of the K & Co. paper, Que Sera Sera, and went to town. The base cs is actually kiwi kiss, but it has been sponged with craft white, stamped with the blossom definition stamp from the set in river rock, washed in gold, and then the whole card was sprayed in 2 layers of pearl glimmer mist. I had also sprayed the main flower image in a fine coating of the same glimmer mist, but guess what? glimmer mist is a water based product and all the regular inks started to bleed all over the paper. So that is when I decided I was gonna go for one of my all-time fave techniques again, cracked glass. It really does cover a multitude of sins when it comes to stamping 'whoops' moments! ask me how I know......... anyhow, I also overstamped the entire flower with the Linen bg in river rock. I am amazed at how well that goes with the kiwi. Added some more of my coolie-o JoAnn's trim finds (this time velvet, scrunchy ric rac that is to die for!!!) and a vintage button. So for the most part this is a SU! card. pretty amazing, huh?!

so sing along with me friends, Que sera sera, what will be will be..... The future's not ours to see....... Que sera sera!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

The other day I was at Michael's spending one of those coveted 50% off coupons and I came across some of their new $1 stamps. WOWZA!!!! There are some great ones out this time! So I was good and only bought 2 wooden ones and 1 clear set in addition to the Martha punch I had originally gone after. I came home and couldn't wait to play around with them! Here is the card I created using the 2 wooden stamps.

All cardstock is Stampin' Up!. I also used 2 of their retired bg stamps to help create the lower piece - Linen (stamped in sahara sand) and French Script (stamped in so saffron). The small flower from Bella's Bloom was also stamped in pretty in pink. The whole thing was then sprayed with pearl glimmer mist to soften and give a very pretty shine. I sponged saffron ink under the shades of the chandelier to give the effect of light. The chandelier was embossed and then the cs distressed. The rhinestones were clear ones I colored with a sharpie to turn them black since I didn't have any in the right size. The trim is more of my fantastic JoAnn's find - I soooooo love that stuff! I am using this for the Rubbernecker stamps Wacky Wednesday blog challenge to create your own background. I don't have any of their stamps yet, so thought I would use what I have, once again!! I sure did have fun making it! I learned about this challenge from Bev over at her blog, Savor the Journey, one of the blogs on my weekly rounds. Will probably end up making another to have around, as I thought it would make a pretty engagement, congrats, or even different kind of graduation card.FYI - if you click on the photo itself, a new, larger window will open and you can see the different bg elements much clearer.

Playing around with the look of my blog since so many of you have inspired me through your gorgeous ones! so it may change each time you come visit until I decide which bg I like best.

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FTC Declaration -

In the spirit of full disclosure, I declare that I am a hobby/freelance designer. In the past I have received products that I promoted and endorsed as a hobby/freelance designer for free or at a discount from the companies listed on my Design Team blog page (or 'guest DT'). Any product that I mention is a product I have used in my designs and recommend with complete honesty. As a hobby/freelance designer, I have the freedom to promote/endorse products that I personally use and love. I have not, nor will I, knowingly endorse a product that I feel is of substandard quality. I, however, would like to mention that any products or stores that I endorse or promote with praise are done so honestly at the time of publication. I will not knowingly make false statements to my readers. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you.